Reading, reviewing and sharing the love for our favourite books for both adults and children

Betsy and Lilibet by Sophie Duffy

Betsy & Lilibet was a cherrypop for me as I hadn’t previously read a book by Sophie Duffy and the cover caught my attention, well what a brilliant choice this book was to try a different author in one of my favourite genres.

Betsy & Lilibet is written from the perspective of Betsy and is written across two time frames starting in London in 1926 and Bognor present day and as the book progresses the timeline gap closes.

I found this story captivating and I quickly became connected to Betsy and wanted to keep reading. She was a strong female in a time where women had no choice but to be strong, these characteristics remained long after the war and paved her way through life.

During this story I felt empathy for Betsy as she always felt out shined by her sister Margie and compassion for her relationship with Janet that is never the same after she makes a decision that alters the courses of both of their lives.

Betsy is a strong and dignified character that controls her emotions from a young age and treats everyone as equals, learning the family trade at a tender age and then taking over her parents business as a Funeral Director when they retire. Throughout this wonderful story there are some fantastic phrases that I felt resonated and gave the strong message that everyone should be treated with respect both in life and in death – “We’re all equal. We come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing and what we have in between is only borrowed us”.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend Betsy & Lilibet, Sophie Duffy is an author I will now look out for and I will be purchasing her previous books as I loved the writing style in which this heart warming story was written.

Book Blurb

London, 1926. Two baby girls are born just hours and miles apart. One you know as the Queen of England, but what of the other girl- the daughter of an undertaker named in her honour? Betsy Sunshine grows up surrounded by death in war-torn London, watching her community grieve for their loved ones whilst dealing with her own teenage troubles… namely her promiscuous sister Margie. As Betsy grows older we see the how the country changes through her eyes, and along the way we discover the birth of a secret that threatens to tear her family apart.